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Government Pensions Can Reduce Social Security: A Primer on WEP
Christy Bieber explains the Windfall Elimination provision’s (WEP) rationale and what happens in practice to those who worked some of their lives in a job where they paid into Social Security and some of their lives when they did not. As…
Why Are Social Security Benefits Taxable?
According to Sean Williams of The Motley Fool, about 50 percent of all seniors receiving Social Security will owe some amount of income tax on their benefits this year. Williams provides a brief history of how and why benefits became…
HSAs and Medicare’s six-month retroactive rule
More people are electing to remain in the workforce past age 65. When they first become eligible for Medicare, those older workers can face tax penalties for funding a Health Savings Account after 65 if they are not aware of…
Small business owners lack retirement preparation
Business owners are often tempted to reinvest everything into their businesses thinking that will be their “retirement plan.” But that can be a mistake. Business owners are like everyone else, they want to make sure they will have enough money…
Is our retirement system ‘flawed’?
We see it and hear it every day: Americans have little or no retirement savings. According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, the problem is that while 401(k) plans are meant to supplement Social Security, the average…
Seasonal Work While Getting Social Security
(Source: Social Security Administration) Many people pick up side jobs when the holiday shopping season comes around. It’s a good way for you to make some extra income during the busy season or ease back into working if you have…
Rescuing your retirement plan after a divorce
No one plans to get divorced, but it happens. While a traumatic life event like a divorce can create a lot of stress and anxiety about your future, you need to plan for your own retirement dreams, goals and desires.…
Even the top earners are not saving sufficiently for the future
Many Americans struggle with saving enough for retirement. Even the workers in the upper quintile of earnings had median retirement wealth of just $294,700 which according to Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis isn’t nearly enough. Although, the top earners…
How much money do you really need to retire
We are all guilty of searching the internet looking for how much cash we need to retire only to find plethora of estimates ranging from $1 million to $10 million and beyond. But knowing how much savings you need to…
If you file at 62, you’ll wind up regretting it.
When to begin your Social Security benefits isn’t an easy decision since the Social Security Administration gives you’re an eight-year window for signing up. You can file for your benefits at 62, the earliest age you can file for benefits,…